Bittersweet and the little soap company

design by design

Spring is here! Change a corner!

During my decorating frenzy at home I'm realizing how important it is to start with a small corner as a starting point to complete the rest of the room. Small corners are, well small, and they offer a great beginning so that you don't get overwhelmed and confused as you work your way around decorating a room. Also, when you start decorating a small corner it's amazing how the colors and textures blend into a smooth transition. 

This is how I design my shop. I always start with a corner. 

Black...

It's a great grounding color to use in your space. You should always have a least one black piece! I've been leaning towards  more than one black piece lately. It's super easy to change the paint color of a piece of furniture or picture frames to change a space. Another reason to love small corners! You can easily make a few inexpensive changes like what I just mentioned and transform the look.  

Source: 

Black Shelf Brackets

Raw Wood Shelving

Black Frames

Milk Paint

Hand Loomed Throw

Dried Grass

Pictures were switched to black and white on Photoshop and then sized to 8 x10 and ordered here. 

I'm slowly moving into the kitchen. My office sits right off the kitchen and there is a small pantry across from my office space. I have a vintage Hoosier cabinet that houses my office supplies and I'm going to continue to use it because I love the functionality of the piece. I also believe that it's a good thing to utilize pieces that you already have.   I'm re-organizing both areas to my liking. I'll be sharing pictures and ideas as I move closer to completing the areas.  

We enjoyed visiting with dads that visited the shop shopping for Mother's day gifts this past week. I'm always impressed with their choices. Even more impressed when the kids tag along and pick out soaps for their moms. They seem to have a six sense on which ones mom would love! I also enjoy watching them choose the perfect flavor and packaging. Little things...

I put together some special Mother's day soap packaging, but fell short of offering more than a few because they sold as quickly as I could design them! The nature of handmade...

My mom. She was soft spoken and smart among many other things. She was a published writer, decorator, chef, and gardener. Her talents were too numerous to count. She passed on some of those talents to her daughter. I feel forever grateful that God chose her to me my mom! She named my business those many years ago, and helped to shape Bittersweet to who she is today. Did I mention how beautiful she was? She was that as well!

It's been officially announced...

Our Porch Sale will kick off on Thursday, June 3 and continue until June 12. The once in a lifetime sale will take place on our shop porch during our business hours Thursday through Saturday. 12 pm - 4 pm. So, Thursday - Saturday the first week and then Thursday - Saturday the second week. 

This sale is an offering of merchandising pieces that we have used to decorate or shop over the past few years. A collection of home goods and items that customers have often admired and asked us if they were for sale. Now they are for sale! We are continuously switching out pieces and adding new ones in our shop and our storage room is overflowing with lamps, baskets, and other amazing items that we simply cannot continue to take up valuable space in our back room. Please Note: We are not offering soaps, sundries or items that are currently in our shop. 

Keep the faith. 

Jill xo

 

 

 

 

 

cabin fever

Here at Bittersweet, we're dreaming about Spring! As I gaze out my office window the landscape has been transformed to white and it's so darn cold it feels as though I'm living in the Arctic! What better than to dream about spring. I can feel it, Cabin Fever! Every February it arrives without fail. It's time to take some cabin fever medicine!

We're working on some layout design for a new launch. The New Collection is wrapped in all things cozy and warm and soothing. 

Winter does have its perks even if you reside in the Artic! 

The New Bedtime Fragrance line is infused with lavender and other yummy blends prescribed at bedtime, but definitely not limited to the evening hours. I just can't help but imagine filling my old tub with this aromatic fragrance and then slipping on a pair of silky pajamas before propping the feather pillows and topping my bed with an extra blanket. A stack of books adds perfection to the visual image!

Another positive thought during the dead of winter, you can visit Bittersweet and create an aromatic new body essential. Meet my sweet little friend, Ava! She's definitely an Apothecary Girl! The Bittersweet Perfumery is also a highlight in the dead of winter!

Behind the scenes at the studio and I'm putting the finishing touches on our New Rose Water Moisturizer. It's rich and creamy and smells so good! It's part of our Spring 21 launch and we're excited to release it in a few weeks!

Our Soap Cabinet is beginning to fill with our freshly wrapped New Soaps!

I can't leave without saying, Go Chiefs!

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

Wrap that soap, girl!

Wow! It seems most of you are knocking out your Christmas lists early this year! In fact, we've never seen this kind of surge in early shopping. We know it's not a year like any other. It's all keeping me on my toes, and I'm doing everything possible to keep up with wrapping and early releases. 

This week we're offering an early release of our Numbers 3 and 4. Three French Hens is dipped in sweet orange, cranberry, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon. Four Calling Birds is scented with pure rosemary and eucalyptus. 

I'm wrapping five and six this week and it may be that we'll be offering the next two soaps early too. 

I've updated our website and make every attempt to keep our inventory well-stocked, but since everyone is shopping early we are selling out of items quickly. 

If I might be as bold as to say, if you wish to share an offering of Bittersweet this holiday to friends and family I'm encouraging you to order and shop early, as items are disappearing at lightning speed! I had a feeling that this was going to happen, but nothing prepares one for such things. 

Our Marshmallow Lip Balm is back! We'll also be introducing two new Lip Balm Flavors in the next few weeks. I'm leaning toward Cinnamon and Mint Chocolate Chip. Both will be amazing!

We've also introduced a new fragrance, Joy to the World. The complex scent of cranberry, orange, vanilla, and amber is nothing short of amazing! We can hand blend this scent to create a body spray, room spray, dry oil, or bath salt. 

We're also offering a collection of special packaging pouches and bags, and a unique assortment of gift-giving combinations. Since we're selling out so quickly on our holiday soaps these are limited as well. 

That's the scoop!

Notice the sign that we have in our store. Keep that thought centered around the holidays.

Keep the faith.

Jill 

autumn skies

Autumn is celebrated at our store but the season is brief. 

We move pretty quickly into the holiday season simply because our inventory revolves around the items we make. Those artisan goods are celebrated by showcasing and offering them front and center at our store.

This year it feels absolutely perfect to keep everything simple. 

I counted the days that our store is open and we're down to thirty more days until Christmas! Thirty days just doesn't seem like a very long time, and indeed it is not. 

In a few weeks I'll wrap up the manufacturing of Holiday Soap and this year's soap making will come to a close. 

It certainly has been an interesting year filled with many surprises and unexpected twists and turns. 

As a small business owner, I've jumped on and rode her the best that I could. I got bucked off a couple of times, but my stubbornness, passion, and determination have helped me to stay focused and not waver on the important things. All of which are different for each person on this planet. When you discover what's important in your life, everything else falls into place. 

Before we get too ahead though we're looking at creative ways to shop our store both inside and out. 

We feel it's good to have a plan  A and a plan B sitting on the sidelines. 

Meanwhile, our Pumpkin Spice Soap arrives this week and we've been brewing up some amazing new Perfumes and Body Scents that we can't help but think are brightening up our lives. 

Keep the faith.

Jill 

 

 

courage

I've been thinking about how things have changed and how there's a movement of courage that seems to have grown in all of us in the past six months. Do you know what I'm referring to? 

During this time of evaluating and examining and being creative, I also feel a shift in how I feel about my store.  I've always wanted guests to experience our store while turning on all six senses, but recently I have also begun pondering how our Modern Apothecary Store should leave you with feelings of happiness and joy. I want your visit to live on, while memories of fondness carry you through until your next visit. That the next time you call, there's a bounty of fresh merchandise and extraordinary displays that get you excited all over again! I've always felt this, but in today's climate, those feelings are more intense. 

Since I've been focusing on those thoughts I have an exciting new perspective. Those new feelings have a positive vibe associated with precise anticipation. I have mentioned in past posts how that is one of my favorite words. The moment in which, well here's the definition.

Definition of anticipation

 The act of looking forward especially: pleasurable expectation looked forward with anticipation to their arrival

 visualization of a future event or state

 

Building up to one's anticipation has always been a feeling that stands out even when I was a young girl, and I've grown to appreciate the uncertainty and sometimes quirky behavior associated with anticipation. Taking it for face value and not putting too much thought into it. 

I know what you're thinking... Here she goes again with her philosophical discussions!

I'm just saying thoughts of what is to come or not come really aren't significant to one's happiness. Something to think about...

Oh boy, we have some exciting new ideas for Fall, Winter! 

Our Holiday Soap production has started and the scents of apple, pine, cranberries, cinnamon, sweet orange, vanilla, peppermint, are thick in the studio air. 

I just calculated and put the final check marks on a strategic soap manufacturing plan that will fulfill the supply and demand needed to fulfill stock inventory at both our store and web site.  It helps to lessen the hustle and bustle of the holiday season at Bittersweet. Since it takes four to six weeks for Bittersweet to cure that period of time is always tallied and double-checked to ensure the safe arrival of our Twelve Days of Christmas Soap. The next seven weeks or so will be full speed ahead and in between shop duties and other store proprietress obligations, the wooden soap spoon will be whipped around hundreds of times! It's the season of soap!

 

We just released our latest Golden Harvest and the week before, one of our favorite fall blends, Persian Pear. 

We're building castles in the air as we put the finishing touches on Holiday packaging ideas and new merchandising displays. 

A shipment of cozy sweaters and leather boots will be arriving next week! Considerate planning and well-thought ideas circulate to which merchandise is a good fit for our store along with thoughts of items that are rare but essential and practical all in one. I'm a practical girl!

You are going to love it all!

The zinnias are beginning to fade from summer and autumn is making her way forward. 

An Alice Bracelet may not change your life, but it will definitely make you smile! They make me smile when making them because they're named after my sweet soft-spoken mom, Alice!

   Our Essential Oil Cleanse is used to clean our store. When entering our store the aroma of Clove, Cinnamon, Lemon, Rosemary, and Eucalyptus fills the air. This purifying blend soothes your mind and your soul. 

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

 

 

 

 

simple pleasures

A bounty of petite gourds certainly did put a smile on my face! If you study each tiny pear or apple-shaped plant you'll shine with admiration for their unique beauty. Then again, I'm a sucker for natural elements and especially fond of incorporating such things into seasonal displays. 

This past week the store has been blossoming into fall.

We have been receiving new shipments of clothing and accessories and we began releasing new fall flavors. Autumn is always an exciting time at Bittersweet. 

The soft scent of Persian Pear will get you in the mood for fall! We offer this amazing scent in a variety of bathing essentials including Bath Salt.

This Dry Oil or Liquid Lotion may be scented with this aromatic fall fragrance. 

I mentioned my fondness for this scroll a few posts ago. I love this little poem! I'm curious about who wrote it?

The Fiddle Leaf Figs are needing a trim. A customer shared this method with me this week. I'm going to give it a try. 

I hope you're taking in some downtime and enjoying the simple pleasures that life offers. 

Keep the faith. 

Jill 

 

 

Light Layering

Even though our store is small it houses over fifty lamps and pendants! That sounds crazy, right? Think again. If you caught my last post that mentioned the bam that texture adds to a room so does lighting. We always refer to lighting as a mood enhancer because the proper lighting can transform a room no matter how big or small the room is. 

There isn't a day go by that I don't get the question, where do you get your lamps? Honestly, sometimes it's easier to purchase two lamps rather than twenty from a wholesaler, and so when I'm out and about I'm always on the look-out for cool lamps. Even if I'm not really needing new lamps my mind is always open to spot them because like I said, lighting can change the look of a room instantly!

I also have a trick that you'll love. I have learned that it's easy to get overwhelmed in a lamp department. Here's my trick to finding the lamp that will become your favorite when you take it home. Stand back and gaze upon the rows of lamps. I mean really stand back and look at the lamps as though you're choosing a shirt or dress. Once you spot one that you're fond of take it from the shelf and place it alone on a store display or table. Now stand back and look at the lamp. This lamp choosing technique sounds easy as pie, right? You will be surprised at how when the lamp is modeled it looks different. There have been times that I've fallen in love with a lamp that sits amongst other lamps, but when I place it on its own, it doesn't turn me on! Try this technique the next time you are shopping for lamps. I promise it will shed new light on lamp shopping! Sorry, I couldn't resist using the puns! I also forgot to tell you that when you set the lamp on its own so that you can get a closer look, you might just get a few stares and curious bystanders will wonder what on earth you're doing!  No worries, they're probably thinking, why haven't' I done that!

I've been knee-deep in genealogy research! I'm planning a trip to Scotland down the road and I'm searching for links to my family members that resided in a few Scottish Castles. The castles still stand and I can't wait to walk on the same ground as my sixteenth great grandfather. I'm sticking with my father's side in my search so the lineage would be restricted to my great grandfathers. I did however also find that one of the clan chiefs brothers resided in a different castle. It's all very interesting and consumes much of my time. It's something I've yearned to do forever, so it feels great to finally uncover the hidden truths about my family's heritage. It will be a lot of fun to know my forefather's exact landmarks and locations when I arrive in Scotland. I know it will feel as though I'm coming home!

In between all that research, comes fall-winter manufacturing!

Our studio is filled with spicy scents that help me to get in the mood for fall. Our hot summer days have been replaced with cooler north wind mornings and you can feel that autumn is not far away!

We're also heavy into making lotion bars and facial serums!

As the weather turns cooler bath time becomes a pleasurable thought!

Keep the faith.

Jill 

skin deep

They say that beauty is skin deep... It is true. Carefully pull apart the beautiful paper to reveal a moisturizing pH tested luxury soap. 

We received our shipment of stunning soap wrapping paper and I am wrapped in its spell! Ever since I can remember I've been drawn to pretty paper. Never in my wildest dreams, however, would I have imagined the fondness would carry over to the notion of soap wrapping. I am glad that it did!

Our Door Store should be best enjoyed as an exploration. Since most of the inventory that we offer at our store is original, we encourage guests to take their time and let their senses guide them through.  Your senses are charmed by the aromas and warm atmosphere. 

This method of shopping becomes an experience that one may hold onto, gather ideas, inspiration, and hold enlightening conversations with fellow shoppers. 

Even though there have been restrictions on the number of guests that enter my store, and one must cover their nose and mouth before entering the threshold, the beauty remains as it has. Encouraging words as tiny as they are... Filled with substance and direction and love. That is what Bittersweet cherishes and treasures most. 

So many choices how does one choose? I will simply answer and give you advice if you request. Bittersweet specializes in this service and the botanical world in which I reside has taught me amazing things. 

I have built most of my adult life learning and researching natural skincare and soap making. The ingredients are king or queen and sometimes the abundant choices that are available can seem overwhelming because of their numbers. When I first began my research there were very few sources to obtain these ingredients. Nowadays the abundance is mind-boggling! A new problem arises with the plentifulness of ingredients. One must be able to distinguish the good from the bad, the sustainable from the non-sustainable, the organic, well you see where I'm going. 

I've been sampling new methods of photography by creating mood enhanced photo's. A passion for capturing an object or objects and putting my stamp on it. If you've ever noticed the visions of photographers are always unique and most of the time captures their personal vision. I love that! In other words when you look at a photograph most often you can distinguish a person's work by the photo after you become accustomed to their methods. My appreciation grows more as I am self-taught and have learned through trial and error. I have come to realize this way of learning is my way, but not always someone else's. When you share your originality the rewards will follow. In this day and age of visual imaging via the Internet, you must remain focused on what moves your soul! It will never feel fulfilling to duplicate someones else's design or idea. This is something that I have learned so I'm passing it on. Freedom comes to those who spread their originality!

Keep the faith.

Jill 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

amber + zucchini

Summertime and the living is easy. At least that's the idea, right? Since our store re-opened we've been pondering summer thoughts like never before! We're ordering in some of our favorite pieces that we think should be shared because we know that you're going to love them as much as we do!

But first lets chat about the color amber. Typically this conversation would carry on at summers end, but amber is a great summertime color too. We incorporate amber glass bottles into our packaging and always have. Our admiration is simple, it reminds us of days gone by. A time when less was more and the contents inside the amber bottle or jar were without a doubt the best thing ever! Those thoughts alone are reason enough on why we love amber. We also love the look of fresh flowers tucked inside amber bottles. 

I visited our farmers market on Saturday and couldn't believe how big the zucchini were! I grabbed a couple so that we could make zucchini bread. I never make a zucchini bread with the same recipe. I'm always adding different spices or chocolate or some sort of variation. This recipe sounded good and it's baking in the oven as I type. Between the sweet bread and the meatloaf that's cooking in the slow cooker the aroma of the savory and sweet is nothing short of food aromatherapy. This recipe stood out. I have to tell you how much I love leftover meatloaf sandwiches! Since the virus, I've been cooking and baking with pantry stock. Meaning, I either don't make it if I don't have it or adjust the recipe with substitutions on things that I do have. Are you doing that too?

Then there's this summertime fruit drink that I seem to be addicted to. I have tried several different ways to make this refreshing summertime drink and this recipe seems to be the one I always turn to. It's not actually a recipe. 

5 - 6 chunks of frozen mango

1 cup of white grape juice

1 teaspoon of frozen dragonfruit. You can find it in small packets. 

A splash of coconut milk is optional

A splash of vanilla syrup is also optional. 

I use a handy handheld mixer to blend. It's fast and easy and a great summer drink. Honestly, that little mixer is a handy gadget to own!

You can add green tea to the recipe if you want. 

Shoptalk...

 July is going to roll in with an array of new soaps and ideas. 

We introduced a New Pineapple and Mango Room Spray a couple of weeks ago and I made the soap yesterday. The new soap will be available towards the end of July. 

Before that July soap hits the shelves we're introducing White Jasmine. What is it about this fragrant Polynesian bloom? It's almost mesmerizing! 

We're bringing back our "Lake House" line of soaps and clothing articles too!

 Reflection gave birth to inspiration. 

A new line of Linen and Denim Cuffed Jeans. Two of my favorite things that I feel may just become yours too. 

This New Summer Soap arrived last week!

Keep the faith.

Jill 

An Apothecary...

We enjoyed our fourth Saturday of Porch Apothecary. It was summer hot on Saturday, but our customers were cooled off with Ice Cold Lemonade and I made Gooey Butter Cookies.  

We're working on the release of New Soaps this week! Behind the scenes and our manufacturing has been running full steam ahead!

We have no idea what the future holds but one thing is for certain, we will remain strong and determined to do whatever necessary to offer our products and to keep the environment safe and secure for both my family and yours. 

The downtown hosted a car parade on Saturday afternoon. I held up that sign to passing cars filled with supportive community folks. 

https://www.facebook.com/downtownliberty/videos/792901284572302

https://www.facebook.com/downtownliberty/videos/253561692742202/

We have a great community!

Keep the faith. 

Jill